The Next Chapter for Resonance Network

Networks in nature — like mycelium, coral reefs, or a murmuration of starlings — change in response to their environments. This commitment to growth is a source of their resilience. And in the coming weeks, a shift is on the horizon for Resonance Network, as Aimee Thompson Arevalo, our founding co-director, transitions off of Resonance’s core team.

Dominant culture habits can bubble to the surface in moments like this: a tendency toward dismissing the old, or alluding to founder syndrome with glossy prose about a “new direction.” That won’t be happening today. This moment for Resonance is, instead, a deep bow of gratitude and a reflection on love, learning, and maintaining connection.

Octavia Butler’s wisdom echoes for us: “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change.” As our founding co-director, Aimee has shaped Resonance Network into being — and indeed, we would not exist in this worldbuilding ecosystem if it were not for her vision, leadership, and love.

In her everyday, Aimee embodies what it means to live in beloved community, and to move with mutual care. To be in her presence is to receive the gift of being seen, and met fully, wherever you are. Aimee moves with humility, and the grace of someone who lives and breathes their core values — and we have all been touched by her commitment to practicing the seeds of the world we’re building.

“Aimee has taught us all about what networks are and what they can be,” says Alexis. “And we’ll continue to live into that vision.”

But perhaps the greatest gift of Aimee’s leadership, is her ability to create the conditions to make beautiful things possible. At Close to Home, Aimee developed a community-driven engagement strategy to prevent violence — a model which not only catalyzed transformation in the community of Dorchester in Boston, but continues to be replicated today, in communities across California.

“I heard about Aimee’s work before we ever met,” says our co-director, Alexis Flanagan. “At Close to Home, Aimee was doing the community organizing work so many organizations aspire to: really being in community, bringing community members together to share stories, voice what they need, and build solutions together. This is why Aimee’s Move to End Violence cohort chose her to lead Resonance in 2013 — because she has this work in her bones. Aimee has taught us all about what networks are and what they can be. And we’ll continue to live into that vision.”

Under Aimee’s guidance, Resonance chose to configure ourselves as a network — giving us the capacity to adapt, evolve, and scale in response to changing contexts and current events. The dynamic form of a network mirrors the way change happens in nature, and makes broad transformation possible. And in the last 10 years, that transformation has taken root:

• Since 2013, Resonance Network has grown from an idea into a community of 3000 people, with participants across the US in 47 states, as well as Canada, Mexico, Kenya, Spain, Netherlands, Egypt, Puerto Rico, Germany, South Africa, St. Croix, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
• We have piloted a series of practice groups, and 37 experimental projects in innovation labs,
• We have developed three core streams of programming with powerful content that is resonating with participants across the country and the world: Workshopping the Worldview, Mending the Arc, and WeGovern; and
• We have innovated governance practice — both internally, and in the world, with the launch of WeGovern in 2020 and the creation of the WeGovern Learning Community, a thriving constellation of organizations, tribes, and teams in deep collective governance practice.

Network leadership changes — and should. With Aimee’s transition, Resonance shifts from one co-directorship to another, as Doris Dupuy steps in to co-lead Resonance Network alongside our existing co-director, Alexis Flanagan. In her role as Operations Director, Doris has been part of the co-directors circle, alongside Alexis and Aimee for the last 3 years, and brings with her a rich background in organizational leadership, and a steadfast vision for what is possible for Resonance.

A Letter from Aimee

Dear Resonance community,

As I write this letter, the leaves are beginning to turn red and yellow here in west central Minnesota, and I am looking forward to picking apples with my son in the weeks ahead.

As the season change, we are celebrating Resonance’s 10-year anniversary, looking back on the depth of practice and community we have cultivated since our founding — and at the same time, wrapping up a strategic planning process that will take what we’ve been building over the last decade — radical imagination, collective governance, and storytelling practices — into our next evolution. Doris has been talking about this transition as the “rebirth” of Resonance and I think she is right.

The timing also feels right for this moment to mark my transition out of my role as co-director of Resonance Network. The pathway toward Resonance’s next horizon is clear; the team is already digging into what lies ahead, and I have deep faith in Alexis and Doris as co-leaders of this next chapter.

“I am proud of what the Resonance team has created in collaboration with this vibrant community, and as I look toward the horizon ahead, I feel excitement about what is possible.”

Early on, I began describing Doris as a “metronome” to the Resonance team, providing a steady pulse and rhythm that kept us honest and on track. She has a unique gift of cutting to the core of a question, with love. Resonance’s core team has known Doris for the star she is — and I am heartened to know the rest of the network will get to see her shine.

I sometimes refer to Alexis in her magic as “preacher Alexis” — a light-hearted reference to her former life, and a nod of affirmation to her gift of creating and holding space, weaving words, people, and spirit in real time — even through a Zoom screen. Alexis has been our co-director — and lead facilitator — for over four years, and a dear friend and co-conspirator to me in so much of Resonance’s growth. The network is in very capable hands.

Co-stewarding Resonance Network’s inception and development over the last 10 years has been a privilege and a blessing. I am proud of what the Resonance team has created in collaboration with this vibrant community, and as I look toward the horizon ahead, I feel excitement about what is possible, and deep trust in Alexis and Doris to help usher it in.

As for my own path, as you may know, once you become a part of Resonance, you don’t ever really leave. I fully intend to continue as a participant, and in relationship with my beloved colleagues and friends. At the same time, I will be tending to some health needs, and regrounding in my own sense of purpose. I’ll also be doing some coursework at a local seminary that will support reflection and writing on the throughlines of cultivating interdependence and wholeness in beloved community, and being present to spirit.

I feel deep gratitude to each of our Resonance participants — and our collective efforts toward a world where we — and future generations — can thrive. I hope our paths will continue to cross on this worldbuilding journey.

Many thanks,

Aimee

Introducing our New Co-Director, Doris Dupuy + What’s Next for Resonance

Doris “Haitian-born, Brooklyn-raised” Dupuy has been a part of the Resonance team since 2018 as our Director of Operations (which has meant, in practice, that Doris has done a little bit of everything — from HR to administration to finance). Indeed, her role at Resonance may well have been called “Director of Emergence.”

And it’s no wonder — before her time here, Doris led several child development programs, including serving as interim ED on two separate occasions, when abrupt changes in organizations created the need for leadership, and she was asked to step in. Doris is unmatched in her ability to manage transition and stay placid under pressure.

Doris’s vocational life has always been a practice of worldbuilding — though, she didn’t always call it that. She has taught math to young people, and supported DC residents and families experiencing homelessness secure stable housing. And her passion for child development and education began after witnessing the stark education inequality in her native Haiti, and vowing to change it.

“I’m a lifelong pessimist, turned realist, turned futurist,” says Doris. “Resonance has taught me a thriving future is possible — and we all have a role in creating it.”

“At first, it was all about the kids. But then I realized that parents are a child’s first teacher, and that ultimately we need to support families so that children can thrive. And soon, that expanded to communities — really seeing firsthand that we need thriving communities so that all of us can thrive,” says Doris. “When I was working in shelters in DC, I felt the urgency of what I now call worldbuilding. When I came to Resonance, I experienced worldview work, and radical imagination through storytelling — and for the first time, I felt like transformation might actually be within reach.”

“I’m a lifelong pessimist, turned realist, turned futurist,” she says with a smile. “Resonance has taught me a thriving future is possible — and we all have a role in creating it. As co-director, I get to support my colleagues and friends in seeing how our respective futures fit together and intertwine. The foundation Resonance has built over the last 10 years is strong — and I feel excited to continue building into what’s next for us, for our communities, and for the world.”

This transition comes at an evolutionary moment for Resonance. As we have shared in recent months, our core team has been in a process of deep reflection and building — from our harvest season to evolutions in our worldbuilding strategy, as we lean into decentralizing and localizing our worldbuilding. But our work in the world remains steadfast: building a world beyond violence — where all beings can thrive.

The seeds that Aimee — alongside Resonance staff and community — have planted, are sprouting and growing. We are committed to what is possible. And we look forward to building with you.